Warning signal



' E. AUFIERO June 11, 1929.

WARNING S IGNAL Filed March 21, 1921 Patented ill, 1929.

EMANUEL AUFIEBO, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

WARNING SIGNAL.

Application filed March 21,

This invention relates to warning signals of the type known as electric horns. buch horns are almost universally used in automobiles where electric current is available for operating the horn, and comprise essentially an acoustic diaphragm and a vibrating mechanism operated by the rotation of a miniature electric motor.

In a certain type of horn now most generally used, the motor is enclosed in a casing adjacent the diaphragm with the motor shaft perpendicular to the diaphragm and provided with a notched wheel or actuator directly engaging the center contact or anvil of the diaphragm. In such horns it is highly desirable that the degree of engagement or overlapping of the notches of the act-uator, and the point of the anvil, be accurately maintained, and to this end the motor shaft must be held against lost motion in an axial direction both toward and away from the diaphragm, and must also be adjustable toward and away from the diaphragm to compensate for wear of the bearings and the contacting faces of the actuator and anvil.

Various methods of mounting the motor shaft for this purpose have been proposed and some have been more or less successful in actual practice, but at this date the motor shaft mounting in all horn constructions of this type with which I am familiar is one of the chief sources of trouble, and it is the object of the present invention to provide a motor shaft mounting for horns of this type which will he of simple, rugged construc-. tion. easily adjusted and not liable to get out of Order. and which will maintain the shaft accurately in adjusted position without lost motion.

A further object is that of providing a signalling device, the parts of which will be individually simple and rugged in construction and capable of. being readily assembled to provide an article operating over long periods of time with freedom from mechanical difiiculty, and which may be produced at relatively nominal cost.

In the accompanying drawings 1 have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my improved horn construction, and in said drawings,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the horn and motor casing; and

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the motor frame looking from the right of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 3 indicates the 1921. Serial No. 453,880.

diaphragm of the horn supported to the rear of the amplifier a by means of the diaphragm housing 5. The diaphragm is vibrated by means of an actuator 7 supported on the end of the motor shaft- 6 in position to engage the anvil b at the center of the diaphragm. 'lhe motor is of usual construction so far as its field coils, armature, brushes, etc., are concerned, and as shown is supported in a rectangular sheet metal frame 9, the front and rear pieces of which are punched to provide bearings for the motor shaft 6. The front end. of the motor shaft carrying the actuator proj ccts into the housing 5 in the manner shown,

and the rear end of the shaft 6 projects through the bearing in the rear bar of the frame in position to be engaged by the de- Vices for effecting the adjustment of the shaft which forms the subjectmatter of this application.

The projecting end of the shaft 6 is conical to fit a bearing cup 16 fixed to a sheet metal arm or strip 10 adjustably supported on the rear bar of the rectangular frame 9. As shown, the strap 10 is l. shaped and has its vouter end, which is bent to lieparallel with the motor shaft. projected through a hole in the rear bar of the frame 9. Between the shaft and the end 13 the strap is supported on an adjusting screw 11 threaded in the motor frame and provided with a spring lvmg between the strap and the motor frame with sufficient strength to hold the strap against the head of the screw and in substantial parallelism with the motor frame.

The other end of the strap projects somewhat beyond the bearing cup 16 and is provided with a tapped opening in which is threaded a screw 14 having at its inner end a disk or flat head 17, the edge of which lies 1n a groove 15 formed in the motor shaft near the end. The screw 14 is also provided with a lock nut 18 whereby it may be locked in adjusted position. When adjusting the horn the screw 14 will first be adjusted to seat the end of the shaft against the bearing cup 16 in a manner'to take up all lost motion without undesirable friction between the shaft and the bearing cup. lhen the screw 11 will be screwed in or out, as the case I may be, to give the desired overlapping of the teeth of the actuator 7 and the anvil 8 for the proper tone of the horn.

By this arrangement the working thrust of the shaft 6 is taken up by the cone bearing instead of by the contacting faces of the groove 15 and the head 17, the groove being for the purpose appreciably wider than the thickness of the head. As the bearing wears the screw 14: may be adjusted to draw the shaft back against the bearing and the screw 11 screwed up to shift the entire motor shaft and armature toward thediaphragm to compensate for the wear both of the bearing and the contacting faces of the actuator and the anvil.

As the conical thrust bearing is directly in line with the working thrust transmitted through the hearing at the front end of the motor shaft, the thrust bearing wears evenly and slowly, and the horn will remain in operative adjustment without attention for long periods. Also, the thrust of the cone bearing on the end of the shaft prevents lateral play of the shaft in the bearings in the frame 9, which also prolongs the life of the horn. The mechanism is of simple design and is supported'entirely at the rear of the motor frame where it is easily accessible upon removing the motor casing.

My improved shaft mounting has been shown and described in considerable detail in its preferred form, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such details, except in so far as recited in the appended claims.

I claim: I

1. In a device of the class described, a frame, a shaft supported in said frame, and means for adjusting said shaft relatively to said frame comprising a member supported on the frame and adjustable in the axial direction of said shaft, a screw threaded in said frame for effecting the adjustment of said member, a thrust bearing carried by said member and engaging the end of said shaft, sa1d shaft having a groove adjacent said bearing, and a second adjusting screw threaded In said member with its head engaging said groove for maintaining said shaft in engagement with said thrust bearing.

2. In a device of the class described a wall, a shaft having an end portion journaled in said wall, and having an annular groove in lts end beyond said wall, an angular or cross bar havlng one end engaged with said wall and its opposite end bearing upon the end of said shaft, a headed screw adjustably engaged witlrsaid wall and extending through an opening in said cross bar at one side of said shaft, spring means mounted on said screw member, and holding said cross bar in engagement with the head of said screw, and a member adjustably carried by said bar and extending into said groove to retain the shaft in engagement with said bar,

3. A device of the class described, comprising a wall, a shaft having an end portion j our naled in said wall, and having an annular roove near its end beyond said wall, a cross ar having one end engaged with said wall and its opposite end bearing upon the end of said shaft, a member adjustably engaged With said wall and extended through said cross bar and provided with stop means engaging said cross bar, a spring mounted on said member and interposed between the wall and the cross bar for holding said cross bar in engagement with said stop means and a member adjustably carried by said bar and extending into said groove to retain the shaft in engagement with said bar.

4:. A signal, including a diaphragm, means for mounting the same, a driving shaft, :1

diaphragm-actuating mechanism, one of the elements thereof being secured to said shaft and another to V said diaphragm, a frame through which said shaft extends, an angular bar having one of its ends in slidable contact with saidframe, said bar engaging the shaft end to provide a bearing therefor, and means carried by said bar and engaging said shaft to retain the end of the latter into contact with the bar.

5. A signal, including a diaphragm, means for mounting the same, a driving shaft, a diaphragm-actuating mechanism, one of the elements thereof being secured to said shaft and another to said diaphragm, a frame through which said shaft extends, a bar providing a bearing for said shaft, a member adjustably' connecting the bar and frame to vary the degree of cooperation of the parts of the diaphragm-actuating mechanism, and means adjustably carried by said bar and connected with the shaft to retain the latter in bearing engagement with said bar,

6. A signal, including a diaphragm, means for mounting the same, a driving shaft, a diaphragm-actuating mechanism, one of the elements thereof being secured to said shaft and another to said diaphragm, a frame through which said shaft extends, a bar providing a bearing for said shaft, a member ad'- just-ably connecting the bar and frame to vary the degree of cooperation of the parts of the diaphragm-actuating mechanism, said shaft being formed with an annular groove adjacent its end, and a headed member adjustably carried by said bar and having its head extending into the groove of said shaft to retain said shaft in proper bearing engagement with said bar.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EMANUEL Mariano,

lltl 

